FROM   THE   LIBRARY   OF 


REV.    LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,   D.  D. 


BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM   TO 


THE   LIBRARY   OF 


PRINCETON   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY 


Church  Poetry  axd  Music, 


H  e  fit        >"»*• 


/?. 


A 


//** 


7 


THE 


PRESBYTERIAN 

QUARTERLY   REVIEW. 

DECEMBER,    1857. 


No.  XXIII. 


48S  Church  Poetry^m^Mtt^lK/^, 


DE 


CHURCH   POETRY   AND    MUSIC. 

In  the  first  number  of  this  Review  we  made  a  quasi  promise 
to  discuss  the  subject  of  Hymnology,  but  have  hitherto  not 
found  time.  The  fact  that  the  General  Assembly  have  directed 
the  Publication  Committee  to  go  fully  into  this  subject,  invests 
it  with  interest  at  this  moment.  To  see  how  thoroughly  the 
Assembly  have  gone  into  this  matter,  we  have  only  to  glance  at 
the  parts  of  their  plan  which  have  been  confided  to  the  Com- 
mittee.    They  are, 

1.  The  purchase  of  the  Church  Psalmist,  the  Psalm  and 
Hymn  Book  in  most  general  use  in  our  churches. 

2.  Authority  to  arrange  for  the  acquiring,  if  it  can  be  had 
at  a  reasonable  price,  of  the  Parish  Psalmody,  a  book  used  to 
some  extent  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States. 

3.  The  Psalter,  in  the  common  version,  is  committed  to  Rev. 
Dr.  Duffield,  of  Detroit,  to  be  prepared  for  chanting. 

4.  Drs.  Beman,  Barnes,  and  Fisher,  are  appointed  to  pre- 
pare a  supplement  to  the  Church  Psalmist,  that  the  collection 
may  be  as  complete  as  possible. 

5.  The  Publication  Committee  are  to  appoint  a  committee 
of  three  persons,  who  are  to  correspond  with  pastors,  leaders 
of  choirs,  and  other  suitable  persons,  in  order  to  ascertain 
what  tunes  are  in  general  use  and  approved  by  the  churches, 
that  those  may  be  selected  that  have  thus  been  sanctioned  by 
the  general  approbation,  not  only  of  the  present  but  of  past 
times.  The  committee  will  thus  be  prepared  to  publish  a  Tune- 
book  for  the  Church. 

As  all  these  several  objects  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Church 
itself,  and  thus  all  selfish  and  private  interests  are  excluded, 
the  Committee  can  work  to  the  direct  point  of  securing  a  com- 
plete system  of  apparatus,  which  may  be  made  the  medium 
through  which  the  praises  of  God  may  be  suitably  celebrated 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  489 

in  the  sanctuary.  We  rejoice  in  the  full  and  free  trust  which 
the  Assembly  have  thus  reposed  in  the  Committee.  They  have 
the  opportunity  of  accomplishing  a  work  that  has  never  yet 
been  fully  done  by  any  Protestant  Church,  and  we  hope  that 
the  thoroughness  with  which  everything  actually  accomplished 
by  this  Committee  has  been  carried  out,  will  be  but  the  earnest 
of  the  manner  in  which  its  business  is  ever  to  be  conducted.  We 
had  rather  that  everything  undertaken,  even  if  slowly  carried 
on,  should  be  well  finished,  than  that  sundry  projects  should  be 
begun  at  once,  and  all  imperfectly  prosecuted. 

The  first  broad  remark  which  must  be  made  on  the  subject 
of  hymnology  is,  that,  considering  the  elements  of  power  given 
in  this  part  of  Divine  worship,  there  is  a  signal  failure  to  make 
of  it  what  it  should  be. 

God  offers  Himself  as  an  object  of  affection  and  adoration. 
But  he  is  boundless  in  his  own  nature.  The  impulses  of  the 
soul,  when  it  strives  to  touch  infinity,  have  more  than  the 
fullest  sway.  When  the  imagination,  strengthened  by  faith,  has 
reached  the  limits  of  the  created  universe,  it  has  passed  over 
only  that  little  portion  of  Jehovah  that  has  been  expressed. 
Even  we,  feeble  as  we  are,  have  a  world  within  us,  for  which 
we  cannot  find  fitting  expression.  The  artist,  poet,  orator,  all 
feel  how  faint  are  marble,  colors,  words,  gestures,  to  body  forth 
the  images  which  the  soul  finds  opening  upon  its  vision. 

Lo  !  these  are  but  the  whisper  of  His  ways, 

But  the  thunder  of  His  power,  who  can  understand  ! 

God  is  eternal.  Before  all  worlds,  He  is.  We  cannot  un- 
derstand it.  We  earnestly  rejoice  that  we  cannot.  What  kind 
of  a  God  would  he  be  whom  a  creature  could  comprehend  !  The 
very  essence  of  a  creature's  glory  is  to  yearn  after  something 
better  than  itself,  to  go  beyond  its  poor,  narrow  conditions,  and 
seek  for  closer  and  closer  union  with  beings  high,  pure,  and 
holy.  The  Highest  and  Holiest  of  all  has  invited  us  to  know 
and  love  Himself,  and  to  draw  into  intimate  union  with  Him. 
What  the  religion  of  Boodh  originally  meant,  at  the  first  and 
earliest  spring  of  its  tradition,  by  absorption  into  God,  is — 


490  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

however  now  perverted  into  mere  annihilation — in  reality  the 
highest  and  grandest  thing  of  which  humanity  is  capable,  or 
for  which  it  has  to  hope. 

In  this  part  of  Divine  service,  then,  in  the  language  of  our 
Directory  for  Worship,  we  "humbly  adore  the  infinite  majesty 
of  the  living  God."  Whatever  of  excellence  in  word  or  rhythm, 
or  harmony  or  elevation  of  spirit  man  is  capable  of,  finds  scope 
here.  So  far  from  there  being  any  limitation  for  want  of  a  wide 
field,  the  fact  is,  that  we  are  only  straitened  by  our  own  inca- 
pacities. Whatever  mortal  can  do  in  rising  to  the  immortal, 
there  is  here  scope  for  its  doing :  the  range  is  literally  infinite. 

In  the  fact  that  hymns  speak  mainly  of  redemption,  we  see 
another  element  of  their  intrinsic  power, — if  we  only  knew  how 
to  make  that  power  available.  We  do  not  know  how  to  express 
ourselves  better  than  in  words  we  once  before  used  :  "  As  re- 
demption is  the  mightiest  work  the  universe  has  yet  known,  or 
perhaps  can  know,  the  clearest  apprehension  of  it,  and  the 
sublimest  aspirations  born  of  it,  must  be  the  very  highest  style 
of  thought  and  feeling.  The  nearest  approach  to  the  Omni- 
potent must  be  the  nearest  approach  to  the  true  sublime,  and 
this  must  be  found  in  the  clearest  idea  and  deepest  feeling  of 
the  God-man  and  the  Incarnation.  The  angels  bend  down 
continually  to  look  into  it,  and  it  is  nothing  less  than  the  cen- 
tral idea  of  eternity  and  infinity." 

Here  we  see  again,  that  it  is  not  the  subject  which  fails, 
but  our  human  power  to  reach  it.  The  only  limitation  is  the 
limitation  of  humanity  itself,  and  its  power  of  expression. 

It  is  to  be  added,  that  the  sacredness  of  Divine  praise  is  a 
great  power,  if  rightly  used.  It  is  only  on  this  principle,  that 
we  can  account  for  the  fact  that  such  extraordinary  psalms  as 
Rouse's  Version,  and  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  have  kept  their 
place  for  centuries  in  the  British  Isles  and  in  America,  and 
that  such  mere  commonplace  as  many  of  our  hymns,  are  tole- 
rated in  our  Church-books.  Let  any  one  read  the  sublime  He- 
brew odes,  in  the  Book  of  Psalms,  in  the  original,  or  even  in 
the  English  version  ;  remembering,  however,  that  he  is  reading 
a  prose-translation  of  vivid  poetry ;  and  turning  from  this,  with 
his  soul  aglow,  let  him  find  Christian  congregations  imagining 


* 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  491 

that  they  are  singing  the  same  thing,  when  they  are  following 
precentor  or  clerk,  uplifting,  through  his  nose,  the  following  : 

A  man  was  famous,  and  was  had 

In  es-ti-ma-ti-on, 
According  as  he  lifted  up 

His  axe,  thick  trees  upon. 

The  intense  commonplace  of  much  of  the  Episcopal  book  is 
no  better : 

To  ten-string'd  instruments  we'll  sing, 

With  tuneful  psalteries  join'd  ; 
And  to  the  harp,  with  solemn  sounds, 

For  sacred  use  design'd. 

It  is  on  the  same  principle  that  masses  of  the  most  ordinary 
rhyme  are  published  every  year  as  religious  poetry  ;  pious 
feeling  does  not  like  to  reject  that  which  is  sincerely  written, 
which  contains  correct  sentiment,  and — for  the  writer  at  least 
— real  emotion.  Hence  the  standard  of  secular  poetry  is  often 
higher  than  that  of  religious. 

How  true  this  is,  that,  where  persons  are  very  greatly  inte- 
rested in  a  subject,  they  will  tolerate  the  most  ordinary  and  com- 
monplace expositions  of  it,  is  seen  in  patriotic  songs,  which  are 
proverbial  for  homeliness.  The  same  principle  finds  illustration 
in  domestic  poetry — songs  of  the  affections.  The  feeling,  uni- 
versal and  deep  as  it  is,  bears  upon  its  current  every  form  of 
verse,  as  a  river,  in  flood,  carries  with  it  the  drift-wood  of  the 
whole  region. 

But,  while  all  this  is  true,  no  one  will  yet  imagine  that  it  is 
a  disadvantage,  in  writing  poetry  of  country  or  fireside,  that 
the  writer  has  a  strong  and  overpowering  feeling  ready  to 
sympathize  with  him.  And  so  in  devotional  poetry,  that  the 
strongest  emotion  of  which  humanity  is  capable,  stands  ready 
to  embalm  his  verse,  is  a  capital  advantage  for  the  sacred  poet ; 
that  human  nature  will  consecrate  it  in  its  holiest  hopes  and 
memories  is  the  very  hiding  of  his  power. 

Another  idea,  which  shows  how  great  a  failure  there  has  been, 
on  the  whole,  in  the  power  of  Divine  praise,  is,  that  the  form 
in  which  it  appears,  no  less  than  the  substance,  is  of  the  very 


492  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

finest.  Surely  nothing  is  more  exquisite  than  music  !  God  has 
chosen  for  his  praise  the  most  beautiful  of  all  methods  of  ex- 
pression. It  is  finer  than  the  medium  of  the  artist,  though  he 
make  the  canvas  almost  speak  ;  finer  than  the  purest  Penteli- 
can  marble,  though  wrought  by  Phidias  ;  finer  than  Greek 
Parthenon,  or  Gothic  Cologne,  though  the  one  seemed  glorious 
enough  to  bring  the  gods  to  earth,  and  the  other  to  raise  men 
aspiring  flame-like  unto  heaven  ;  finer  even  than  the  living  voice 
of  the  orator  in  his  most  impassioned  moods. 

If  the  deepest  thoughts  and  emotions  of  man  be  at  all  capa- 
ble of  expression, — if  they  be  not  wholly  to  perish  for  want  of 
some  medium  of  utterance,  then,  surely,  music  is  the  most  per- 
fect of  earthly  media  for  that  expression.  For  what  is  music? 
The  Almighty  has  so  constructed  all  sounds  in  nature  that, 
when  brought  together  under  certain  circumstances  and  pro- 
portions, they  produce  harmony.  This  is  especially  the  case 
with  human  voices  and  those  instruments  which  imitate  them. 
The  voices  of  men,  women,  and  children  are  all  diverse ;  and 
yet,  by  skilful  training  and  arrangement,  may  be  so  blended 
as  to  produce  an  exquisite  delight.  Further,  there  are  feelings, 
which  are  very  imperfectly  expressible  in  words  or  gestures. 
When  the  nobler  and  gentler  emotions  fill  men's  minds,  they 
naturally  flow  out  in  poetry ;  instead  of  finding  rhythm  and 
measure  fetters,  they  are  felt  to  be  wings.  Law  is  not  burden- 
some except  to  the  lawless,  and  the  accurate  orbit  of  the  planet 
is  its  perfection.  Sacred  song,  then,  is  the  natural  expression 
of  high  devotion,  and  when  the  rapture  of  prayer  and  praise 
is  allied  to  music  worthy  of  it,  we  surely  have  the  very  noblest 
form  of  expression  of  which  man  is  capable.  In  this,  then,  as 
in  all  else  that  belongs  to  our  religion,  God  has  wrought  per- 
fectly, man  only  is  in  fault ;  we  are  not  straitened  in  God,  but 
we  are  straitened  in  ourselves. 

The  old  philosophers  had  an  idea,  which  appears  in  various 
forms,  about  the  music  of  the  spheres.  "  The  stars  in  their 
courses,"  says  one  of  them,  "  perpetually  give  out  music,  but  it 
is  in  sounds  too  vast  and  constant  to  be  heard."  The  idea 
which  lay  at  the  basis  of  this  mode  of  thought,  seems  to  be  that 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  493 

in  God's  world  as  he  made  it  there  is  no  jar  ;  that  he  created 
the  universe  a  perfect  harmony.  Hence  they  beautifully  im- 
agined that  the  worlds  in  their  orbits,  the  winds  in  their  whis- 
pering breezes  and  their  wildest  roarings,  the  waters  as  they 
tunefully  trip  by  the  mossy  roots  and  the  small  pebbles,  or 
pour  themselves  in  masses  over  the  cataract,  or  lift  up  their 
hands  on  high  in  tempest  on  the  ocean, — that  all  these,  with 
whatever  else  makes  up  nature,  were  one  choral  harmony.  And 
it  is  very  striking  to  observe  how  something  like  this  universal 
chorus  fills  the  imagination  of  the  sacred  writers  both  when 
speaking  of  earth  and  heaven  : 

Praise  ye  the  Lord  from  the  heavens  : 

Praise  him  in  the  heights. 

Praise  ye  him,  all  his  angels : 

Praise  ye  him,  all  his  hosts. 

Praise  ye  him,  sun  and  moon  : 

Praise  him,  all  ye  stars  of  light. 

Praise  him,  ye  heavens  of  heavens, 

Ye  waters  that  be  above  the  heavens. 

Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth, 

Ye  dragons  and  all  deeps  : 

Fire  and  hail ;  and  snow  and  vapor : 

Stormy  wind  fulfilling  his  word  : 

Mountains  and  all  hills  ;  fruitful  trees  and  all  cedars  : 

Beasts  and  all  cattle  ;  creeping  things  and  flying  fowl. 

And  so  when  the  imagination  and  faith  of  the  sacred  writers 
fix  upon  heaven.  Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  angels, 
seraphim  and  cherubim,  "  thrones,  virtues,  dominations,  pow- 
ers," without  number,  numberless,  mingle  their  voices  with  the 
multitude  of  the  ransomed  from  every  kindred  and  nation  and 
people  and  tongue  which  is  under  the  wide  heaven,  while  the 
new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  responsive,  fill  the  universe 
with  the  echoes  of  their  harmony. 

God's  Church  on  earth  contains  the  germ  of  his  universe ; 
it  is  a  theatre  upon  which  is  represented  the  great  principles 
and  emotions  of  his  mighty  moral  government.  God's  temple 
on  earth  is  the  type  and  emblem  of  his  temple  above.  "  Which 
serve  unto  the   example  and  shadow   of  heavenly  things,  as 


404  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

Moses  was  admonished  of  God,  when  he  was  about  to  make 
the  tabernacle,  for  see  (saith  he)  that  thou  make  all  things 
according  to  the  pattern  showed  to  thee  in  the  mount."  If 
these  things  be  so,  then  all  the  services  of  the  Church  should 
be  worthy  of  this  high  position. 

It  is  a  wonderful  thing,  when  we  think  of  it,  how  God  has 
made  the  human  race  a  choir  of  music.  It  is  surely  no  acci- 
dental thing  that  the  deep  voice  of  the  mature  man  in  one  part, 
that  of  the  mature  woman  in  another,  that  of  the  maiden  in 
a  third,  and  that  of  the  boy  in  still  another  part  of  music,  are 
so  constructed  by  the  heavenly  Architect  of  the  human  frame, 
as  that  their  union  makes  a  perfect  harmony.  Especially  does 
this  possess  a  deep  meaning  when  connected  with  God's  com- 
mand: 

Praise  ye  the  Lord, 

Kings  of  the  earth  and  all  people  : 

Princes,  and  all  judges  of  the  earth  : 

Both  young  men  and  maidens  ; 

Old  men  and  children  : 

Let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord : 

For  his  name  alone  is  excellent, 

His  glory  is  above  the  earth  and  heaven. 

Here  is  an  adaptation  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High. 

Look  a  little  at  the  ideal  of  worship,  and  see  how  the  Al- 
mighty has  adapted  it  to  all  that  is  in  man.  Its  basis  is  devo- 
tion, the  worship  of  the  infinitely  great  and  good  Being.  In 
prayer  especially  is  the  moral  nature  in  exercise,  with  the 
emotions  of  the  soul.  The  intellect,  will,  and  passions,  are  ad- 
dressed especially  in  the  solemn  communication  of  the  ambas- 
sador of  Christ ;  the  heart  through  the  senses,  human  love 
mingling  with  divine  in  the  ordinances ;  the  social  principle  in 
the  gathering  together  of  the  great  congregation.  But  in  man 
besides  is  the  love  of  beauty,  that  principle  which  the  Hellenic 
nation  was  raised  up  to  illustrate ;  that  feeling  which  lies  at 
the  basis  of  the  fine  arts,  of  architecture  and  painting  and  sta- 
tuary, poetry  and  music,  the  finer  graces  and  loveliness  of  life 
and  society,  the  courtesies  of  intercourse  and  the  sweetness  of 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  495 

a  refined  home.     God  put  it  in  man,  and  in  worship  he  would 
not  omit  it.     Hence  praise,  with  poetry  and  music. 

David  was  a  man  after  God's  own  heart,  and  when  the  Lord 
had  given  him  rest  from  his  enemies  round  about,  as  he  sat  in 
his  palace  and  thought  of  the  magnificence  which  had  been 
gathered  in  a  habitation  for  a  child  of  clay,  a  sinful  man,  and 
fading  like  the  leaf,  he  turned  to  Nathan  and  said,  "  See  now, 
I  dwell  in  a  house  of  cedar,  but  the  ark  of  God  dwelleth  within 
curtains."  And  when  the  Lord  forbid  him  to  build  the  house 
because  he  had  been  a  man  of  war,  instead  of  availing  him- 
self of  this  as  an  excuse,  as  any  one  but  a  man  great  of  soul 
and  full  of  the  love  of  God  would  have  done,  he  expended 
countless  treasures  upon  the  materials  for  the  Temple,  so  com- 
pleted by  Solomon  as  to  be  the  wonder  of  the  world.  This  is 
the  spirit  in  which  the  worship  of  God  should  be  conducted. 
No  expenditure  of  time,  wealth,  or  talent  is  too  great  that  God 
may  be  rightly  honored. 

All  that  we  can  do  for  our  fellow-men  depends  upon  the 
worship  of  God.  The  Church  is  the  centre  of  all  good.  Upon 
its  attractiveness  depends  the  virtue  of  the  people  more  than 
upon  all  other  causes.  Hence  with  so  much  pains  and  expense 
have  our  fathers  provided  for  the  education  of  the  ministry. 
For  this  purpose  they  built  academies  and  colleges  and  theolo- 
gical seminaries  at  immense  cost — cost  none  too  great.  For 
this  purpose  they  have  prescribed  a  long  and  laborious  course 
of  education,  that  the  ministry  may  be  able  rightly  to  conduct 
the  worship  of  God ;  that  his  temple  may  be  the  centre  of 
love,  devotion,  respect,  and  delight  from  the  people.  In  the 
same  spirit  ought  the  architecture  of  God's  temple  to  be  impos- 
ing, the  interior  of  his  house  solemn  and  yet  pleasant,  and  all 
the  services  to  be  so  conducted  as  to  satisfy  the  moral  nature, 
the  affections,  the  intellect,  and  the  imagination, — all  that  is 
holy  and  blessed  in  man. 

No  part  of  divine  worship  stood  higher  in  the  affections  of 
the  Hebrews  than  sacred  song.  When  the  Lord  brought  them 
through  the  Red  Sea,  Moses  made  a  magnificent  hymn  of 
gratitude    and  triumph,   in  which   he  was  not  withheld  by 


406  Church  Poetry  and  JIusic.  [Dec. 

motives  like  those  of  the  effeminate  religion  of  our  time  from 
rejoicing  in  God's  victory  over  his  enemies.  Moses  sang  this 
psalm,  and  the  children  of  Israel — they  chanted  it  high  and 
loud  over  Egypt's  dark  sea.  "  And  Miriam  the  prophetess, 
the  sister  of  Aaron,  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand ;  and  all  the 
women  went  out  after  her,  with  timbrels  and  with  dances." 
In  responsive  choirs  they  poured  out  their  patriotic  and  religious 
triumph : 

Sing  ye  to  Jehovah ! 

He  hath  triumphed  gloriously ! 
Horse  and  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea ! 

When  Deborah  and  Barak  discomfited  Sisera  at  the  ancient 
river  Kishon,  the  stars  in  their  courses  fighting  against  him, 
the  prophetess  composed  another  glorious  hymn  of  triumph  : 

Zebulun  and  Napthali  were  the  people ! 

They  jeoparded  their  lives  unto  the  death 

In  the  high  places  of  the  field! 

0  my  soul !  thou  hast  trodden  down  strength  ! 

So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish,  0  Lord ! 

But  them  that  love  thee 

Let  them  be  as  the  sun  going  forth  in  his  might ! 

When  the  king  of  Moab  rebelled  against  Jehoram,  king  of 
Israel,  the  latter  allied  himself  with  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah, 
and  the  king  of  Edom.  Perishing  for  water  in  the  wilderness 
they  came  to  Elisha  the  seer.  After  a  severe  rebuke  of  Jeho- 
ram, and  a  declaration  to  the  three  kings  that  but  for  Jehosha- 
phat he  would  not  look  towards  them, — so  glorious  then  was 
the  courage  of  God's  ambassadors, — the  stern  old  prophet  then 
gave  what  seems  to  us  the  strange  order,  "  Now  bring  me  a 
minstrel.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  minstrel  played, 
that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him."  So  when  Saul 
was  troubled  by  an  evil  spirit,  it  was  the  harp  of  David  that 
soothed  him. 

There  is  another  striking  narrative  in  the  twentieth  chapter 
of  Second  Chronicles.  A  confederation  of  fierce  tribes  was 
formed  against  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah.  The  king  pro- 
claimed a  fast,  and  all  Judah  stood  before  the  Lord,  with  their 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  497 

little  ones,  their  wives  and  their  children.  When  they  had 
humbled  themselves  and  prayed — "  then  upon  Jahaziel,  the  son 
of  Zechariah,  a  Levite  of  the  sons  of  Asaph,  came  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation."  When  his  tri- 
umphant prophecy  was  silent,  and  Jehoshaphat  with  all  Judah 
had  bowed  their  heads  before  the  Lord,  then  stood  up  the  Levites 
to  praise  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  with  a  loud  voice  on  high. 
On  the  next  day,  as  they  went  to  the  battle,  Jehoshaphat 
"  appointed  singers  unto  the  Lord,  and  that  should  praise  the 
beauty  of  holiness,  as  they  went  out  before  the  army,  and  to 
say,  Praise  the  Lord ;  for  his  mercy  endureth  forever.  And 
when  they  began  to  sing  and  Upraise,  the  Lord  set  ambushments 
against  the  children  of  Ammon,  Moab  and  Mount  Seir,  which 
were  come  against  Judah;  and  they  were  smitten."  Such 
honor  did  the  Lord  put  upon  holy  song. 

To  the  Temple  service  in  the  praise  of  God  were  devoted  by 
David  four  thousand  Levites.  These  he  divided  into  twenty- 
four  classes,  who  were  placed  under  the  instruction  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  teachers.  At  their  head,  as  com- 
manders of  this  musical  host,  were  Asaph,  Heman,  and  Jedu- 
thun.  To  Asaph  was  assigned  the  care  of  instruments  of  per- 
cussion ;  to  Heman,  whose  skill  is  compared  to  the  wisdom  of 
Solomon,  was  confided  the  wind  instruments ;  and  to  Jeduthun 
or  Ethan,  whom  some  think  to  be  the  Greek  Orpheus,  stringed 
instruments.  Heman's  three  daughters  are  mentioned  as 
skilled  in  music.  On  the  return  from  Babylon  the  Jews  brought 
a  choir  of  two  hundred  musicians.  We  find,  then,  that  the  prac- 
tice of  the  ancient  Church  corresponded  with  our  theory  of  the 
value  of  this  part  of  divine  worship. 

In  looking  for  the  causes  of  this  failure  properly  to  dignify 
divine  praise,  it  is  necessary  to  examine  the  faults  of  the  hymns 
in  common  use. 

One  is  that  they  are  too  didactic.  Say  what  we  may  of  the 
influence  of  custom  and  cultivation,  it  lies  in  the  nature  of 
human  mind  to  prefer  the  concrete  to  the  abstract.  A  regu- 
larly didactic  poem  is  not  lyric ;  we  must  sacrifice  the  one  or 
the  other  characteristic.     Of  course  it  does  not  follow  that  a 

vol.  vi. — 32 


403  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

lyric  song  is  not  instructive,  but  the  instruction  must  be  either 
in  the  way  of  expressed  feeling,  or  example,  or  concentrated 
apophthegm.  "We  take  a  specimen  of  each  from  Dr.  Watts. 
For  instance,  of  the  first  kind,  combining  instruction  with  lyric 
feeling  : 

One  glance  of  thine,  one  piercing  ray 

Would  kindle  darkness  into  day. 

"Where  the  omniscience  of  God  is  powerfully  taught. 
Of  the  second,  we  may  quote  an  almost  perfect  figure,  which 
is  concrete  didactic : 

The  haughty  sinner  I  have  seen, 

Not  fearing  man,  nor  God  ; 
Like  a  tall  bay-tree,  fair  and  green, 

Spreading  his  arms  abroad. 

And  lo  !  he  vanished  from  the  ground, 

Destroyed  by  hands  unseen  ; 
Nor  root,  nor  branch,  nor  leaf  was  found 

Where  all  that  pride  had  been. 

A  choir  must  be  a  very  bad  one,  who  will  not  sing  these 
stanzas  expressively. 

Of  the  third,  we  give  an  example  which  possesses  in  some 
measure  all  three  excellences ;  feeling,  picturesqueness,  and 
sententiousness: 

Some  walk  in  honors  gaudy  show; 

Some  dig  for  golden  ore  ; 
They  toil  for  heirs,  they  know  not  who, 

And  straight  are  seen  no  more. 

But  other  hymnologists,  and  Watts  himself,  are  not  always 
so  happy.  Many  hymns  will  immediately  occur  to  our  readers 
as  resting  on  a  dead  level  of  commonplace  exhortation  and  in- 
struction, and  tending  to  produce  dulness  in  a  whole  congre- 
gation. 

Another  fault  is  sentimentality.  Wre  admit  the  difficulty  of 
drawing  the  line  between  true  feeling  and  mere  sentiment. 
Persons,  too,  are  so  differently  constructed,  that  what  appears 
affected  to  one  is  natural  to  another :  one  class  would  call  a 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  499 

hymn  sweet,  while  another  would  call  it  sentimental.  Still,  the 
difference  is  founded  upon  nature,  and  it  is  one  of  the  sternest 
requisites,  if  any  one  would  write  sacred  songs  which  will  live, 
that  he  should  understand  just  where  this  line  is  drawn. 

"Feeling,"  said  the  late  Miss  Landon,  "  weeps  over  the 
grave  of  a  friend,  sentiment  plants  the  rose  and  the  willow  to 
weep  too."  The  feeling  of  sorrow  for  bereavement  at  death 
is  universal ;  refined  and  recherche  methods  of  expressing  it 
would  not  carry  popular  sympathy.  One  of  the  points  of 
difference  is  that  a  hymn  must  not  be  for  the  few  but  for  the 
many.  "The  pulpit,"  Isaac  Taylor  says,  "belongs  to  the 
people,"  because  cultivated  persons  can  learn  the  will  of  God 
from  books,  but  the  masses  rely  upon  oral  instruction.  It  is 
so  with  hymns.  A  sacred  song  that  the  humblest  cannot  un- 
derstand may  be  considered  a  failure.  The  true  hymn  is  such 
an  one  as  the  reader  remembers  hearing  five  thousand  people 
in  Kentucky  sing : 

Through  many  dangers,  toils,  and  snares, 

I  have  already  come ; 
'Tis  grace  hath  brought  me  safe  thus  far. 

And  grace  will  bring  me  home. 

Montgomery  has  the  same  fault,  in  part.  What  more  beauti- 
ful than, 

The  dead  are  like  the  stars  by  day, 

Withdrawn  from  human  eye, 
Yet  not  extinct,  they  hold  their  way 
In  glory  through  the  sky. 

Yet  it  is  not  a  good  stanza  for  a  hymn  ;  the  feeling  in  some 
way  evaporates  while  we  are  admiring  the  figure.  It  were  un- 
just to  call  it  a  conceit,  and  yet,  while  singing  or  repeating  it, 
one  is  rather  looking  at  a  thing  than  feeling  it. 

o  o  o 

In  further  illustration  of  this  idea,  we  might  remark  that 
Moore  was  an  admirable  song-writer  for  a  certain  class  of 
society,  but  even  if  he  had  possessed  the  necessary  moral  quali- 
fications, his  style  of  thought  would  have  prevented  success  as  a 
writer  of  hymns.  Thus,  how  beautiful  the  figure,  akin  to  Mont- 
gomery's : 


500  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

Then  sorrow  touched  by  thee  grows  bright, 

With  more  than  rapture's  ray, 
As  darkness  shows  us  worlds  of  light 

"We  never  saw  by  day. 

Beautiful  as  this  is,  the  thought  is  not  obvious.  It  could 
never  carry  with  it  a  popular  assembly. 

There  is  something  of  the  same  fault  in  Kirke  White.  One 
or  two  of  his  hymns  come  within  the  magic  circle  of  popular- 
ity— or  at  least  one.  But  usually  they  do  not.  What  a  beau- 
tiful sacred  poem  is  the  hymn  which  contains  this  stanza : 

Howl,  winds  of  night;  your  force  combine; 

Without  his  high  behest, 
Ye  shall  not,  in  the  mountain  pine, 

Disturb  the  sparrow's  nest. 

Yet,  as  a  hymn,  it  is  not  successful.  It  is  too  recondite ;  the 
imagery  takes  the  mind  off  from  the  feeling;  it  is  too  individual. 
We  feel  the  difference  so  soon  as  we  repeat  a  verse  of  a  true 
hymn  upon  the  power  of  God : 

Beneath  the  shadow  of  thy  throne, 

Thy  saints  have  dwelt  secure  ; 
Sufficient  is  thine  arm  alone, 

And  our  defence  is  sure. 

The  same  criticism  must  be  made  upon  Bishop  Heber,  not- 
withstanding the  Missionary  Hymn.  For  instance,  what  a 
beautiful  poem  on  death  he  has  written : 

Beneath  our  feet,  and  o'er  our  head, 

Is  equal  warning  given  ; 
Beneath  us  lie  the  countless  dead, 

Above  us  is  the  heaven. 

But  it  has  not  attained  popularity  as  a  hymn.  Compare 
Charles  Wesley  for  the  reason : 

One  family  we  dwell  in  him, 

One  church  above,  beneath, 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream, 

The  narrow  stream  of  death. 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  501 

3.  A  third  fault  is  one  that  has  been  nearly  banished  from 
our  hymn  books — the  making  of  our  sacred  songs  too  erotic. 
We  regret  to  say  that  the  spirit  of  our  time  is  not  only  adverse 
to  this,  but  tends  almost  to  dislike  of  anything  tender  and  en- 
dearing in  the  personal  communion  of  the  believer  and  his  Lord. 
No  one  can  enter  into  the  heart  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  or  the 
expressions  of  the  apostles  John  and  Paul,  in  relation  to  union 
between  the  Christian  and  our  blessed  Lord,  without  feeling 
that  the  Church  in  our  day  is  in  danger  of  losing  that  intense 
and  loving  individualism  which  is  the  life  of  religion. 

Still  there  have  been  in  some  of  the  Methodist  and  Mora- 
vian hymns,  and  possibly  in  some  of  our  own,  expressions 
which  good  taste  cannot  sanction.  One  trembles,  at  times, 
when  reading  such  works  as  those  of  Mrs.  Rowe  and  Madame 
Guyon,  lest  he  may  have  overpassed  the  limits  of  reverence. 
The  Romish  legends,  as  that  of  St.  Catharine  and  the  stigmata, 
fostered  these  feelings,  and  they  are  to  be  guarded  against. 
Yet,  we  sigh  sometimes,  in  this  conventional  age,  for  a  feeling 
in  the  Church  which  could  make  such  a  danger  possible.  For 
one  Elizabeth  of  Bavaria,  we  have  scores  of  decorous  persons, 
whose  love  to  the  Redeemer  is  of  so  general  and  feeble  a  sort, 
that  we  need  not  earnestly  condemn  this  error. 

4.  The  opposite  fault  is  frigidness  in  psalms  and  hymns. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  some  that  are  sung,  leave  the 
congregation  much  colder  than  they  found  it.  We  have  opened 
the  Congregational  Book  at  a  hymn  by  Enfield.  What  effect 
could  singing  the  following  stanzas  have  but  a  frigid  one  ? 

How  vain  of  wisdom's  gift  the  boast ! 
Of  reason's  lamp  how  faint  the  ray ! 

Follies  and  sins,  a  countless  sum 

Are  crowded  in  life's  little  span ; 
How  ill,  alas !  does  pride  become 

That  erring,  guilty,  creature  man  ! 

Good  sentiments  !  but  certainly  not  lyric. 
The  injury  done  by  forcing  congregations  to  sing  five  or  six 
frigid  or  merely  didactic  verses,  which  are  totally  destitute  of 


Church  Poetry  and  Jlasic.  [Dec. 

true  poetic  fire,  is  greater  than  even  ministers  always  see.  The 
worship  of  God  should  be  a  perfect  whole  ;  the  attention  should 
be  arrested  at  the  beginning,  and  kept  up  without  flagging  to  the 
close ;  but  to  this  end,  prayers,  sermons,  and  psalmody,  should 
correspond  and  be  filled  with  a  common  feeling.  Unless  wor- 
ship excite  emotion,  it  has  failed  of  its  primary  object. 

The  characteristics  of  a  true  psalm  or  hymn  are  something 
like  the  following : 

The  first  condition  is  evangelical  feeling.  This  is  indispens- 
able. It  is  an  element  which  is  but  seldom  found  in  any  poetry 
not  composed  expressly  for  the  sanctuary,  and  too  often  not  even 
there.  What  is  the  Gospel  ?  The  Almighty,  in  the  eternal 
ages  past,  determined  to  gather  for  himself  a  glorious  company 
of  beings.  They  were  to  be  created  in  his  own  image,  of  high 
natures,  free,  but  with  possibility  of  change.  They  were  to  be 
tried ;  multitudes  of  them  passing  through  innumerable  and 
sore  difficulties,  where  every  joint  of  their  harness  should  be 
proved,  and  almost  every  possibility  of  impairing  their  loyalty 
exhausted.  These  blessed  myriads,  so  tried  and  found  faith- 
ful, were  to  be  confirmed  in  pure  and  perfect  holiness,  and  with 
confidence  entire,  and  now  unimpairable,  they  are  to  start 
afresh  on  a  high  and  most  glorious  career  of  usefulness  and 
enjoyment.  These  are  the  picked  men  of  the  universe,  the 
chosen  of  the  Almighty,  the  elect  of  God.  The  foundation  of 
this  mighty  and  transcendent  system  is  laid  in  the  life  and 
death  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  central  life  and  love  of  the 
universe  of  holy  creatures,  is  their  life  from  Him  and  love  to 
Him. 

The  song  of  the  elect  on  their  march  to  celestial  glory,  the 
mourn  and  the  lament,  the  love  and  the  sorrow,  the  affection 
for  each  other  and  their  crucified  Lord,  the  battle  and  the  vic- 
tory of  the  Sacramental  Host, — these  are  what  we  call  the 
psalms  and  the  hymns  of  the  Church. 

Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  In  catching  the  glorious 
idea  and  carrying  it  out,  Watts  and  Charles  Wesley  are,  beyond 
all  question,  pre-eminent. 

There  is  something  very  beautiful  in  the  character  of  Philip 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  503 

Doddridge.  He  did  everything  well.  As  a  theological  pro- 
fessor, he  was  eminently  useful ;  his  sermons  were  the  delight 
of  his  time,  and  greatly  profitable ;  his  Rise  and  Progress  is  a 
religious  classic,  meeting  a  state  of  mind  and  heart  which  seems 
well-nigh  universal ;  his  conversation  fitted  him  to  be  the  favo- 
rite of  the  most  polished  circles,  while  of  hymn-writers — below 
the  highest — he  is  one  of  the  best.  We  need  only  mention  the 
first  lines  of  his  hymns  : 

Jesus,  I  love  thy  charming  name. — 
Do  I  not  love  thee,  oh  !  my  Lord  ? — 
Hark,  the  glad  sound,  the  Saviour  comes. — 
Xow  let  our  cheerful  eyes  survey. — 
Ye  golden  lamps  of  heaven,  farewell. 

There  are  two  stanzas  of  Doddridge's,  however,  generally 
printed  in  different  hymns,  which  should  be  together,  and  which 
we  agree  with  Professor  Tayler  Lewis  in  thinking  among  the 
noblest  hymn-writing  in  any  language : 

!Tis  God's  all-animating  voice, 

That  calls  thee  from  on  high  ; 
?Tis  his  own  hand  presents  the  prize 

To  thine  aspiring  eye. 

Behold  Jehovah's  royal  hand 

A  radiant  crown  display, 
Whose  gems  with  vivid  lustre  shine 

When  suns  and  stars  decay. 

John  Newton  is  eminently  evangelical,  with  much  deep  and 
tender  feeling,  but  little  of  the  fire  of  poetry;  while  Mrs.  Steele, 
in  all  that  is  sweet  and  plaintive  in  Christian  expression,  is  de- 
servedly and  universally  admired. 

Xo  Christian  ever  lived  who  did  not  love  Cowper ;  and  the 
whole  Church  owe  a  debt  of  love  to  Mrs.  Browning  for  her  ex- 
quisite eulogy  : 

Nor  ever  shall  he  be  in  praise 

By  wise  or  good  forsaken  : 
Xamed  softly,  as  the  household  name 

Of  one  whom  God  has  taken. 


504  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

The  very  world,  by  God's  constraint, 
From  falsehood's  ways  removing, 

Its  women  and  its  men  became, 
Beside  him,  true  and  loving. 

Cowper  has  given  us : 

There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood. — 
Far  from  the  world,  oh  Lord,  I  flee. — 
Hark,  my  soul !  it  is  the  Lord. — 
0  for  a  closer  walk  with  God. 

And  one  to  which  we  will  refer  in  another  connection. 

It  is  remarkable  that  there  are  several  examples  of  authors 
writing  one,  and  one  only,  superior  hymn. 

Kelly,  who  has  published  a  number  of  hymns,  some  of  them 
both  excellent  and  popular,  has  written  one  of  remarkable 
beauty,  "  The  head  that  once  was  crowned  with  thorns." 

Another  example  is  D.  Turner,  the  exquisite  hymn  founded 
on  the  apostle's  expression,  "Seen  of  angels:"  "  Beyond  the 
glittering,  starry  skies." 

Miss  Williams  has  written  a  single  hymn  that  will  always 
keep  its  place,  "While  thee  I  seek,  protecting  power." 

There  is  one  remarkable  hymn  by  Ockum,  "  Awaked  by 
Sinai's  awful  sound." 

Sternhold  and  Hopkins  have  one  sublime  psalm,  "  The  Lord 
descended  from  above." 

Muhlenberg:  "  I  would  not  live  alway." 

A  remarkable  example  is  the  old  hymn,  whose  author  is  un- 
known, "Jerusalem  !  my  happy  home." 

Toplady  has  written,  "  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me." 

And  W.  M.  Bunting,  "0  God !  how  often  hath  thine  ear." 

A  second  and  essential  characteristic  of  a  good  hymn  is  the 
union  of  lyric  feeling  with  rhythmical  flow . 

We  have  already  said  that  a  hymn  must  be  evangelical ;  when 
we  add  to  this  that  it  must  be  lyric,  we  make  an  addition  that 
is  easier  understood  than  expressed.  It  must  be  fit  to  be  sung  ; 
it  must  express  emotion ;  the  emotion  must  be  such  as  a  mul- 
titude can  feel,  and  it  must  be  such  as  they  can  feel  together. 
The  tide  of  emotion  must  bear  the  heart  along  with  it ;  and  it 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  31usic.  5C5 

ought  to  be  so  sustained  as  to  increase  in  intensity  to  the  end. 
For  this  purpose,  it  is  obvious  that  the  hymn  must  be  short ; 
the  vividness  of  lyric  feeling  forbids  it  to  be  long  sustained. 

The  form  is  rhythm.  Rhythm  is  the  succession  or  flow  of 
sound  or  motion  in  harmonious  arrangement.  It  is  the  same 
in  principle  as  symmetry  in  sculpture  or  architecture.  "We  are 
free,  in  English  poetry,  from  the  difficulties  which  beset  the 
Greek,  because,  understanding  how  to  pronounce  the  language, 
we  are  not  troubled  with  long  and  short  syllables,  but  go  by 
our  ear.  Rhythm  corresponds  to  what  we  call  time  in  music, 
or  in  hymns  metre.  It  is  quite  different  from  tune.  Common 
metre,  for  instance,  can  be  sung  to  hundreds  of  tunes.  If  a 
soldier  cannot  keep  time  to  music,  he  is  drilled  mechanically  to 
step  with  others,  else  he  makes  a  jar  through  a  whole  regiment. 

In  Moore's  Canadian  Boat  Song,  the  distinction  is  well- 
marked  : 

Faintly  as  tolls  the  evening  chime, 

Our  voices  keep  time,  and  our  oars  keep  time. 

Rhythm,  then,  is  the  musical  flow  of  language.  The  world 
is  full  of  rhythms,  in  sound,  speech,  motion,  everywhere. 

Beauty  of  words,  and  the  art  by  which  sound  is  the  echo  of 
sense,  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised  in  hymns.  Anything 
which  adds  to  beauty  and  enjoyment  in  sacred  praise,  provided 
it  do  not  interfere  with  devotion,  is  to  be  approved.  The  He- 
brew poet  did  not  despise  the  use  of  alliteration,  or  the  expres- 
siveness derived  from  union  of  voice  and  sound.  There  is 
more  of  this  in  the  hymns  that  are  popular  than  would  be  sup- 
posed.    For  instance,  of  alliteration  : 

To  show  thy  love,  by  morning  light, 
And  talk  of  all  thy  truth  at  night. 
And  bless  his  works,  and  bless  his  word. 
Like  brutes  they  live,  like  brutes  they  die. 
High  as  the  heavens  our  voices  raise. 
And  earth  with  her  ten  thousand  tongues. 
Wide  as  the  world  is  thy  command. 
Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood. 


50G  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

But  timorous  mortals  start  and  shrink. 
Could  we  but  climb  -where  Moses  stood. 

Of  expressive  and  beautiful  words  : 

And  thy  soft  wings,  celestial  dove. 
Seize  the  kind  promise  while  it  waits. 
At  thy  rebuke  the  billows  die. 
The  earth  lies  still  and  fears. 
There  is  a  stream  whose  gentle  flow. 

Hymns  may  be  very  obviously  divided  into  subjective  and- 
objective.  Of  the  former  kind,  those  which  express  the  personal 
experience  of  the  writer,  and  of  course  of  all  who  enter  into 
the  spirit  of  the  hymn — the  productions  of  no  uninspired  man 
probably  can  be  compared  with  those  of  Charles  Wesley.  Wo 
make  a  few  extracts  of  hymns,  not  familiar,  as  we  imagine,  to 
our  readers.  We  think  they  will  thank  us  for  the  enjoyment 
they  afford  to  every  person  of  taste  and  piety.  We  would 
remind  the  reader,  just  here,  of  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of 
the  Psalms  of  David  are  made  up  of  statements  of  his  own  ex- 
perience, and  that  these  have  always  been  the  delight  of  Chris- 
tians in  every  age.  We  insert  the  following  hymn  as  Wesley 
wrote  it.  It  is  generally  published  in  a  mutilated  and  injured 
form. 

Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above, 

That  have  obtained  the  prize, 
And  on  the  eagle  wings  of  love, 

To  joys  celestial  rise  : 
Let  all  the  saints  terrestrial  sing, 

With  those  to  glory  gone  ; 
For  all  the  servants  of  our  King, 
In  earth  and  heaven,  are  one. 

One  family  we  dwell  in  Him, 

One  Church  above,  beneath, 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream, 

The  narrow  stream  of  death  : 
One  army  of  the  living  God, 

To  his  command  we  bow ; 
Part  of  the  host  have  crossed  the  flood, 

And  part  are  crossing  now. 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  3Iusic.  507 

Ten  thousand  to  their  endless  home 

This  solemn  moment  fly; 
And  we  are  to  the  margin  come, 

And  we  expect  to  die  : 
His  militant  embodied  host, 

With  wishful  looks  we  stand, 
And  long  to  see  that  happy  coast, 

And  reach  the  heavenly  land. 

Our  old  companions  in  distress 

We  haste  again  to  see, 
And  eager  long  for  our  release 

And  full  felicity : 
Even  now  by  faith  we  join  our  hands 

With  those  that  went  before  ; 
And  greet  the  blood-besprinkled  bands 

On  the  eternal  shore. 

Our  spirits  too  shall  quickly  join, 

Like  theirs  with  glory  crowned, 
And  shout  to  see  our  Captain's  sign, 

To  hear  his  trumpet  sound. 
0  that  we  now  might  grasp  our  Guide  ! 

0  that  the  word  were  given ! 
Come,  Lord  of  hosts,  the  waves  divide, 

And  land  us  all  in  heaven  ! 

We  give  part  of  a  hymn,  which,  in  a  mutilated  form,  is  very 
popular  in  the  West. 

0  what  hath  Jesus  bought  for  me  ? 
Before  my  ravish'd  eyes 

Rivers  of  life  divine  I  see, 

And  trees  of  Paradise  : 
They  flourish  in  perpetual  bloom, 

Fruit  every  month  they  give  ; 
And  to  the  healing  leaves  who  come 

Eternally  shall  live. 

1  see  a  world  of  spirits  bright, 

Who  reap  the  pleasures  there ; 
They  all  are  robed  in  purest  white, 

And  conquering  palms  they  bear : 
Adorned  by  their  Redeemer's  grace, 

They  close  pursue  the  Lamb ; 


508  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

And  every  shining  front  displays 
The  unutterable  Name. 

They  drink  the  vivifying  stream, 

They  pluck  the  ambrosial  fruit, 
And  each  records  the  praise  of  Him, 

Who  tuned  his  golden  lute  : 
At  once  they  strike  the  harmonious  wire, 

And  hymn  the  great  Three-One  : 
He  hears!  he  smiles  !  and  all  the  choir 

Fall  down  before  his  throne  ! 

Oh  !  what  are  all  my  sufferings  here, 

If,  Lord,  thou  count  me  meet 
"With  that  enraptured  host  to  appear, 

And  worship  at  thy  feet ! 
Give  joy  or  grief,  give  ease  or  pain, 

Take  life  or  friends  away  ; 
I  come,  to  find  them  all  again 

In  that  eternal  day  ! 

We  have  hesitated  a  little  about  quoting  a  third  hymn  of 
heaven.  There  is  a  class  of  our  readers,  however,  that  we  are 
sure  will  like  the  following  : 

To  that  Jerusalem  above 

With  singing  I  repair  ; 
While  in  the  flesh,  my  hope  and  love, 

My  heart  and  soul,  are  there  : 
There  my  exalted  Saviour  stands, 

My  merciful  High  Priest, 
And  still  extends  his  wounded  hands, 

To  take  me  to  his  breast. 

"What  is  there  here  to  court  my  stay, 

Or  hold  me  back  from  home, 
While  angels  beckon  me  away, 

And  Jesus  bids  me  come  ? 
Shall  I  regret  my  parted  friends, 

Still  in  the  vale  confined  ? 
Nay,  but  whene'er  my  soul  ascends, 

They  will  not  stay  behind. 

Oh,  what  a  blessed  hope  is  ours ! 
While  here  on  earth  we  stay, 


1857.]  *  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  509 

We  more  than  taste  the  heavenly  powers, 

And  antedate  that  day  : 
We  feel  the  resurrection  near, 

Our  life  in  Christ  concealed, 
And  with  his  glorious  presence  here 

Our  earthen  vessels  filled. 

Oh,  would  he  more  of  heaven  bestow, 

And  let  the  vessel  break, 
And  let  our  ransomed  spirits  go 

To  grasp  the  God  we  seek : 
In  rapturous  awe  on  Him  to  gaze, 

Who  bought  the  right  for  me  ; 
And  shout,  and  wonder  at  his  grace 

Through  all  eternity  ! 

Breadth  or  massiveness  in  handling  is  the  appropriate  attri- 
bute of  the  objective  hymn. 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 

is  a  fine  specimen.  Dr.  Watts  excels  all  others  in  this  species 
of  hymn.  The  specimens,  of  course,  are  too  familiar  to  quote, 
and  need  only  be  indicated. 

We  are  not  sure  but  one  psalm  of  this  kind,  by  Watts,  is  the 
finest  in  the  world.     We  mean 

Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne. 

Another,   which  we   have  always   greatly  admired,    is  the 

148th  Psalm  : 

Loud  hallelujahs  to  the  Lord  ! 

There  is  a  hymn  of  Watts,  that  is  admirable  in  a  critical 
point  of  view,  obeying  the  rule  of  beginning  quietly  and  rising 
gradually  in  greater  and  greater  majesty  : 

How  should  the  sons  of  Adam's  race, 
Be  pure  before  their  God  ? 

Each  stanza  rises  above  the  preceding,  until  the  close  : 

He  walks  upon  the  stormy  sea, 

Flies  on  the  stormy  wind  : 
There's  none  can  trace  his  wondrous  way. 

Or  his  dark  footsteps  find. 


510  Church  Poetry  and  Jfusic.  [Dec. 

In  the  minor  key  is 

Lord  !  what  a  thoughtless  wretch  was  I — 

A  psalni,  that  has  the  peculiar  ring  of  the  old  Hebrew,  is 
one  that  we  are,  perhaps,  peculiar  in  admiring — the  seventy- 
sixth  : 

In  Judah,  God  of  old  was  known ! 

Millions,  it  may  be  said,  have  been  softened  and  elevated  by 

How  pleasant,  how  divinely  fair ! 

And 

Sweet  is  the  work, — my  God !  my  King  ! 
The  ninety-third  Psalm  is  compact  as  well  as  massive : 
Jehovah  reigns  ;  he  dwells  in  light. 

It  is,  perhaps,  in  consequence  of  the  necessity  of  this  quality 
to  a  sacred  song,  made  as  it  is  to  upbear  the  devotion  of  multi- 
tudes, that  so  very  few  good  hymns  have  been  written  by 
women.  We  should  certainly  have  supposed  that  the  fact 
would  be  otherwise.  Looking  at  the  great  number  of  truly 
pious  women  ;  at  the  warmth  of  their  nature  ;  at  the  delight 
they  take  in  the  exercises  of  public  worship, — we  should  have 
supposed  that  many  sacred  lyrics  would  bear  their  names.  It 
is  well  known,  however,  that  the  number  of  them  is  few,  and 
that  nearly  all  that  have  acquired  any  popularity  are  plaintive 
and  penitential. 

We  should  have  supposed  that  Mrs.  Hemans,  and  especially 
Mrs.  Browning,  would  write  delicious  hymns.  But  their  poetry 
is  too  recherche  ;  the  imagination,  or  the  fancy,  is  rather  indivi- 
dual than  general,  and  there  is  a  want  of  that  massiveness  that 
fits  a  poem  for  popular  use,  just  as  a  woman  would  be  delight- 
ful in  conversation  but  out  of  place  as  an  orator.  The  authoress 
of  the  *' Cry  of  the  Human,"  and  "lie  giveth  his  beloved 
Sleep,"  probably  could  not  address  effectively  an  audience  of 
two  thousand  men ;  and  hymn-writing,  after  all,  is  like  oratory. 
It  forms  words  that  thrill  thousands  of  all  classes  and  cha- 
racters, and  thrill  them  all  at  once.    Words,  that  will  do  this. 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  511 

must  be  at  the  same  time  simple  and  dramatic,  understood  in 
a  moment,  and  yet  carrying  profound  feeling, — those  universal 
things  that  are  "borne  inward  unto  souls  afar." 

It  is  essential,  that  a  hymn  contain  a  clear  thought  that  can 
be  recognized  at  once.  Thoughts  that  are  entangled,  that  re- 
quire time  for  reflection,  like  the  most  of  Wordsworth's,  much 
of  Coleridge  and  Shelley,  and  some  of  the  finest  sonnets  in  the 
language,  are  entirely  unsuitable  for  hymns.  The  same  canon 
requires  that  a  hymn  be  not  crowded  with  thought.  It  should 
flow  like  a  clear  brook  through  a  wood,  pellucid,  fresh,  reflect- 
ing leaves  and  skies,  musical,  yet  still  onward  to  its  goal. 
What  fine  unity  of  thought  runs  through  the  Psalms  of  David ! 
yet  it  is  such  thought  as  belongs  to  universal  humanity.  The 
ninetieth  Psalm,  for  example — the  Prayer  of  Moses,  the  man  of 
God — on  human  frailty  and  Divine  strength  ;  or  the  ninety-first 
— protection  to  those  who  love  God ;  cr  the  ninety-second — 
the  elevation  of  heart  in  praise,  and  the  brutishness  of  those 
wTho  never  look  upward  to  God ;  or  the  ninety-third — the  majesty 
of  Jehovah,  before  whom  nothing  can  live  but  holiness.  And 
so  we  might  almost  pass  through  the  Psalms,  and  find  every- 
thing illustrative  of  this  principle.  Nothing  can  possibly  be 
more  false  than  the  idea  that  a  sacred  song  can  be  permanently 
successful  without  clear  and  valuable  thoughts ;  but  impractical 
men  are  forever  confounding  philosophic  ideas  with  those  that 
are  living  and  breathing,  coming  fresh  from  one  heart  to  set 
on  fire  the  hearts  of  all.  Nor  are  the  latter  class  of  thoughts 
inferior  in  interest  or  value  to  the  former ;  they  only  differ  as 
water  in  a  stagnant  marsh  from  the  same  water  upbearing 
navies  on  its  bosom,  or  when  converted  into  vapor,  carrying 
along  prodigious  masses  by  its  elastic  force. 

The  imagery  of  a  hymn  must  be  appropriate,  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  Scriptural.  The  reasons  for  this  are  obvious.  One 
is,  that  true  taste  requires  everything  to  be  appropriate  and  in 
keeping.  We  know  so  little  of  religion  beyond  what  is  revealed, 
that  it  is  safest  to  keep,  as  closely  as  possible,  to  the  written 
Word.  The  jealousy  with  which  the  Secession  and  Covenanter 
Churches  guard  psalmody,  refusing  to  sing  anything  but  Scrip- 


'r)12  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

ture,  has  its  origin  in  a  noble  feeling  of  loyalty  to  God.  It  is 
true,  that  they  allow  their  principle,  in  its  practical  application, 
to  degenerate  into  the  ludicrous.  Instead  of  chanting  the 
words  of  our  noble  English  version,  they  prefer  to  sing  Rouse's 
wretched  attempt  at  versification.  We  would  do  well,  however, 
to  adhere  to  their  principle,  and,  in  our  hymnology,  keep  as 
close  to  the  Word  of  God  as  possible.  Sentiment  and  classic 
style  are  a  poor  substitute  for  the  sublime  truths  of  revelation. 

Besides,  it  is  plain,  that  any  other  imagery  than  that  of 
Scripture,  unless  used  very  sparingly  and  chastely,  will  draw 
off  the  mind  from  devotion.  The  associations  of  ideas  are  so 
innumerable ;  the  mind  is  so  quick  in  suggestion  and  analogy, 
that  in  an  instant  a  classic  or  romantic  illustration  will  carry  it 
off  from  the  evangelic  current  of  thought.  It  is  even  import- 
ant, we  think,  to  observe  the  difference  between  words  that  are 
generally  used  in  romantic  and  classic  and  in  sacred  poetry. 
If  it  be  said  that  our  hymns  will  grow  monotonous,  if  confined 
to  one  round  of  expression,  we  remark  that  words  are  never 
commonplace  in  themselves,  and  that,  however  dogged  they 
may  be  by  use,  they  can  be  rendered  entirely  fresh  by  proper 
setting  and  disposition. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  add,  that  if  we  desire  to  carry  the 
masses  with  us — and  this  is  indispensable  to  the  very  idea  of  a 
true  hymn — there  is  no  way  so  effectual  as  to  keep  close  to 
that  Book,  every  word  of  which  is  familiar  to  every  Christian. 
We  need  not  complain  of  want  of  variety.  No  one  who  has 
studied  Scripture  deeply  will  ever  make  this  objection.  In 
truth,  the  masters  of  the  lyre,  even  in  secular  poetry,  resort 
to  this  unfailing  fountain  of  imagery.  Milton  is  full  of  it.  The 
infidel  Shelley  greatly  admired  it,  and  some  of  Byron's  most 
magnificent  sonnets  are  simply  the  Hebrew  imagery  of  Scrip- 
ture. 

We  have  always  felt  that,  in  this  respect,  the  well-known 
hymn  of  Dr.  Watts  is  almost  perfect : 

There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight. 
Every  image  is  scriptural,  every  suggestion  appropriate,  every 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  513 

association  holy.  We  doubt  whether  any  uninspired  produc- 
tion has  oftener  softened  the  heart  or  moistened  the  eyelids. 

Passing,  for  the  present,  the  subject  of  the  alteration  of 
hymns,  we  remark,  that  omissions  are  not  always  judiciously 
made.  Some  parts  of  a  comparatively  long  sacred  song  might 
suit  one  mood  of  feeling  in  a  congregation,  and  other  parts  a 
different  mood.  It  is  a  question,  whether  the  whole  of  some 
such  songs  had  not  better  be  inserted,  that  selections  may  be 
made  at  the  moment.  We  only  refer  here  to  some  of  very 
superior  merit. 

There  is  a  hymn  of  Erskine,  in  which  he  describes  the  songs 
of  heaven  in  view  of  Redemption.  Almost  all  the  books  give 
the  more  vague  and  general  parts  of  it — the  beginning  and 
conclusion — but  omit  its  heart,  the  parts  that  are  most  expres- 
sive and  picturesque.  We  have  seen  these  stanzas  but  in  one 
book.  We  never  have  heard  anything  sung  in  church  with 
more  effect.     We  quote  from  memory  : 

But  when  to  Calvary  they  turn 

Silent  their  harps  abide  ; 
Suspended  songs  a  moment  mourn 

The  God  that  loved  and  died. 

Then,  all  at  once,  to  loudest  strains 

They  summon  every  chord, 
Tell  how  he  triumphed  o'er  his  pains, 

And  chant  their  living  Lord. 

In  that  exquisite  hymn, 

Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb, 

the  angels,  the  Church  triumphant,  and  the  Church  militant, 
sing  in  chorus  the  praises  of  the  Redeemer.  A  popular  book 
omits  the  stanza  which  connects  us  with  the  heavenly  host, 
leaving  us  out  of  the  concert : 

Thou  hast  redeemed  our  souls  with  blood, 

Hast  set  the  prisoners  free — 
Hast  made  us  kings  and  priests  to  God, 

And  we  shall  reign  with  Thee ! 

We  would  suggest  to  those  who  have  charge  of  this  interest- 
vol.  vi. — 33 


514  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

ing  and  responsible  duty  of  selecting  the  sacred  songs  of  the 
Church,  that  they  examine  the  old  hymns  and  ancient  chorals. 
Xo  one  would  wish  to  modernize  the  language  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, but  it  may  be  questioned  whether  we  have  not  been  too 
anxious  to  remove  their  archaic  aspect  from  our  hymns.  Fort- 
lage,  author  of  the  Gresange  Christliche  Vorzeit,  thus  speaks 
of  the  old  Latin  hymns :  "  As  we  listen,  the  soul  welters  in 
deep  and  strong  emotion.  From  this  has  arisen  whatever  of 
most  sublime,  magnificent,  and  fair,  the  sacred  poetry  of  Chris- 
tendom has  brought  to  light.  In  it  the  organ-pipes,  which 
thunder  through  heaven  and  earth,  seem  in  full  play,  as,  with 
shudders  of  inner  unworthiness,  with  cries  and  melting  tears, 
with  jubilant  shouts  over  the  goodness  of  God,  and  plaints  and 
sighs  over  Adam's  fall,  and  with  triumphant  strains  that  praise 
the  great  Redemption,  they  thrill  through  the  universe."* 

Dr.  Daniel,  again,  in  his  Comments  on  the  Hymns  of  the 
Old  Latin  Church,  "  has  sought  to  show  that  in  them  we  must 
look  for  the  originals  of  many  a  strain  and  stave  still  sounding 
in  the  Churches  of  modern  Christendom.  Stephenson,  in  his 
'  Hymns  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church,'  has  preserved  for  us 
some  of  the  canticles  which  were  sung  and  chanted  by  our 
English  forefathers  ;  and  though  the  hymnology  of  the  English 
language  is  very  far  from  containing  so  many  additions  to  its 
contents  from  the  Latin,  as  are  found  in  the  tongues  of  the 
continent,  yet  is  the  sacred  poetry  of  the  middle  ages  an  ap- 
preciable element,  even  in  the  liturgy  and  worship  of  English 
Protestantism."  "Among  the  many  examples  of  German 
hymns  translated  by  Luther  from  the  Latin ;  the  best  known 
are,  perhaps, 

Nun  komm  der  Heiden  Heiland — 

From  the 

Veni  Redemptor  gentium, 

of  Ambrose,  and  the 

Christ,  der  du  bist  Tag  und  Licht — 


From  the 


Christe,  qui  lux  es  et  dies. 


*  North  Am.  Rev.  clxxvi. 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  515 

To  these  we  may  add,  such  reproductions  by  other  hands, 
as  those  in  which  the  '  Urbs  beata'  repeats  its  'Vision  of  Peace :' 

Jerusalem,  du  hochgebaute  Stadt. 

Or  as  when  the  '  ecce  homo'  of  sacred  Latin  verse,  the  pas- 
sion hymn  of  St.  Bernard, 

Salve  caput  cruentatum, 

haunts  us  again  in  Paul  Gerhard's  touching  version ; 

0  Haupt  voll  Blut  und  Wunden, 
Voll  Schmerz  und  roller  Holm."* 

A  kindred  subject  to  this  of  the  old  chorals  is  the  reflection 
of  different  Churches  in  their  hymns.  Expressions  are  not 
more  varied  in  human  faces  than  the  phase  of  Christianity 
which  is  characteristically  presented  in  the  psalmody  of  dif- 
ferent Churches.  An  expert  could  probably  tell  almost  at  once 
to  what  Church  a  particular  hymn  belonged,  ever,  where  no 
doctrines  peculiar  to  that  denomination  are  expressed. 

The  Moravian  hymns,  of  which  there  are  clear  traces  in 
Charles  Wesley,  are  affectionate,  simple,  sometimes  passionate, 
and  all  tend  at  once  to  the  Redeemer.  The  genius  of  this  re- 
markable people  is  at  once  seen  in  their  sacred  poetry.  Faith 
in  Christ  is  their  characteristic.  They  cling  in  simple  love  to 
the  cross.  The  world  has  reached  them  less  than  other  people. 
Their  hymns  have  been  spoken  of  as  sometimes  erotic,  but  they 
are  not  probably  so  to  them.  The  same  faith  that  leads  them 
to  Greenland  and  South  Africa  to  take  up  the  very  worst  cases 
of  humanity,  because  they  are  the  worst,  leads  them  to  gather 
like  children  around  their  common  Saviour,  and  sing  hymns 
that  are  almost  domestic.  The  moral  is,  that  we  should  engraft 
something  of  the  best  and  finest  element  of  the  hymnology  of 
each  Church  upon  our  own.  Does  any  one  doubt  for  a  moment 
that  we  doctrinal,  business-like,  dry  Presbyterians,  would  be 
improved  by  something  of  the  affectionate,  home-like  character 
of  the  Moravians  ?  If  so,  it  will  do  us  good  to  sing  some  of 
their  hymns,  and  soften  under  their  quiet  influence. 

*  Ibid. 


516  Church  Poetry  and  3Iusic.  [Dec. 

Branching  from  this  Moravian  idea  are  two  somewhat  diverse 
from  each  other, — the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  Methodist  on  the  other.  The  German  language 
is  considered  as  unusually  rich  in  hymns.  The  quiet  charac- 
ter of  the  Moravians  is  seen  in  the  Lutheran  psalmody,  but 
there  is  a  distinction,  nevertheless.  The  sinewy  massiveness  of 
Luther  is  felt  in  some  of  them  ;  the  contemplative  and  some- 
what phlegmatic  element  of  the  nation  is  seen  in  others ;  while 
Christianity  appears,  though  not  deficient  in  depth,  in  its  his- 
toric rather  than  in  its  doctrinal  aspect.  While  a  translation 
of  these  hymns  is  extremely  difficult,  yet  their  spirit  might  be 
very  advantageously  transferred. 

The  subjective  tendency  of  the  Moravian  hymns  appears  in 
an  exaggerated  form  in  the  Methodist,  combined,  however,  with 
a  fervor  of  devotion  which  any  Church  might  gladly  welcome. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  that  some  of  the  popular  Methodist 
hymns  are  deficient  in  taste  ;  but  the  genius  and  piety  of  Charles 
Wesley  has  idealized  all  that  is  noblest  and  most  excellent  in 
the  denomination.  His  hymns  are  making  their  way  into  all 
collections,  and  bearing  with  them  the  faith,  and  love,  and  active 
piety,  characteristic  of  a  people  to  whom  has  been  committed 
especially  the  pioneer  work  of  the  Church. 

Episcopacy  has  not  added  as  much  to  hymnology  as  we  should 
have  expected  from  its  learning,  refinement,  and  efficiency.  It 
has  contented  itself  with  a  passive  recipiency  of  some  of  the  old 
Catholic  chants  and  chorals,  and  for  psalms  prefers  the  collec- 
tion which  comes  nearest  to  Rouse,  the  most  commonplace  of 
attempts  to  versify  the  Psalms  of  David.  It  is  in  other  ways 
than  in  these  meagre  performances  that  we  are  to  be  benefited 
by  Episcopal  experience  ;  their  churchly  spirit  comes  to  us  in 
the  chants  and  other  parts  of  their  service. 

The  Congregationalists  are  eclectic.  Their  characteristic 
absence  of  special  church  feeling  is  seen  in  their  adoption  into 
their  collections  of  every  form  of  sacred  song,  from  an  ancient 
choral  to  a  Unitarian  ode  or  a  melody  of  Thomas  Moore.  Yet, 
unfettered  as  they  are,  they  have  brought  in  much  that  is 
beautiful,  and  they  are  well-known  as  most  diligent  cultivators 
of  sacred  music. 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Mum.  517 

The  genius  and  spirit  of  Watts  seem  to  have  commended 
themselves  so  thoroughly  to  Presbyterians  as  to  show  a  charac- 
teristic likeness.  His  traits,  accordingly,  are  clear  doctrinal 
statement ;  Scriptural  imagery  ;  the  atonement  as  central  to 
Christianity ;  reverent  devotion  ;  a  lofty  but  steady  and  serious 
imagination,  and  a  subdued  feeling,  as  fearing  to  overstep  the 
limits  belonging  to  the  sinful  creature.  It  were  well  if  Presby- 
terians  could  borrow  from  other  Churches  a  more  social  and 
cheerful  spirit,  more  simplicity  and  affectionateness,  and  if  they 
could  gain  in  richness  what  they  might  healthfully  lose  in  for- 
mality. In  carefully  avoiding  everything  sensuous,  Presbyte- 
rianism  sometimes  degenerates  into  dryness,  and  in  instinctively 
informing  its  services  with  manliness  carried  to  severity,  it  loses 
in  sweetness  and  tenderness. 

We  are  greatly  delighted  that  our  Church  has  taken  up  with 
unanimity  the  subject  of  chanting  the  psalms,  and  that  it  is 
committed  to  so  competent  a  person  as  Dr.  Duffield.  We  hope 
that  this  work  will  speedily  be  issued  by  the  Publication  Com- 
mittee, and  that  provision  will  then  be  made  for  its  introduction 
into  all  our  churches.  The  chants  ought  not  merely  to  be  used 
as  voluntaries  by  the  church  choirs,  but  should  be  introduced 
occasionally  in  place  of  the  regular  psalm  or  hymn.  Our  ser- 
vice needs  to  be  enriched  without  losing  its  simplicity.  The 
accord  of  the  people  can  best  be  given  in  our  service  through 
its  musical  form.  The  same  chant  beino;  sung  to  the  same 
psalm,  it  will  soon  be  caught  up  by  the  people. 

Chanting,  perhaps,  comes  nearest  to  the  ancient  choral  ser- 
vice. It  is  singular  that  those  whose  principles  require  them 
to  adhere  to  the  words  of  Scripture,  should  object  to  that  wor- 
ship which  uses  the  ipsis&ima  verba  of  our  common  Bible.  It 
is  a  source  of  much  pleasure  to  us  that  our  Church  is  not  so 
fettered  but  that  she  can  use  whatever  is  valuable  in  other 
forms  of  worship,  provided  only  they  are  for  edification  among 
her  own  people. 

There  is  but  one  other  topic  which  we  desire  to  include  in 
this  Article.  It  is  the  necessity  and  duty  of  congregational 
singing.     We  have  no  hesitation  in  stating  our  opinion  in  the 


518  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

broadest  and  most  unqualified  manner.  It  is,  that  there  is  no 
suitable  icorship  unless  the  ivhole  congregation  sing.  In  all 
churches  which  have  liturgical  services  there  is  an  arrangement 
for  the  people  to  join  in  the  worship  audibly.  They  pronounce 
the  Amen  ;  they  murmur  the  Lord's  prayer ;  they  repeat  the 
creed  ;  in  some  services  they  make  other  responses.  Presbyte- 
rianism  rejects  the  whole ;  the  minister  conducts  the  entire 
audible  service.  Still,  there  remain  the  praises  of  God  in  the 
sanctuary,  the  highest  effort  of  which  humanity  is  capable,  sus- 
tained by  all  the  power  of  poetry  and  music,  and  the  devotion 
of  an  ardent  spirit.  If  a  thousand  voices  swell  together  in 
harmony  to  God,  we  can  dispense  with  the  audible  sound  in 
the  responsive  service. 

When  a  choir  is  composed,  as  we  have  seen  one,  of  near 
fifty  persons,  there  is  some  excuse  for  it,  but  even  then  it  is  the 
wrong  way.  We  may  endure  it,  but  we  never  can  make  it 
right.  The  people  of  God,  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  should 
sing  the  praises  of  God.  If  they  are  not  taught  in  music,  they 
ought  to  be  taught.  Six  hundred  performers  sing  and  play 
in  Handel's  Creation ;  why  not  train  a  thousand  men,  women, 
and  children,  to  sing  the  praises  of  God  ?  It  matters  not  how 
much  time  it  takes  to  train  them.  Take  the  time.  It  matters 
not  how  much  it  costs.  Pay  the  price.  Jehovah  is  worthy  of 
it,  and  human  beings  can  be  engaged  in  no  nobler  work. 

We  know  that  there  are  many  objections.  We  do  not  care 
for  the  objections.  A  small  choir  to  sing  for  God's  people  is 
wrong,  and  it  cannot  be  made  right.  We  have  no  kind  of 
objection  to  a  choir  as  a  leader  of  the  congregation,  provided 
always  that  it  does  not  exemplify  the  political  motto,  "  Power 
is  always  stealing  from  the  many  to  the  few."  We  are  per- 
fectly inflexible  in  this  matter ;  the  whole  congregation  ought 
to  sing,  and  some  plan  must  be  devised  to  accomplish  it. 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  there  are  two  feelings  that  are  perfectly 
distinct.  One  is  a  refined  sentiment.  This  is  gratified  by  ex- 
quisite singing — the  highest  form  of  art,  such  as  is  attained  by 
the  opera.  This  steals  into  Christian  congregations  insidi- 
ously, and  finds  its  gratification  in  scientific  playing  and  sing- 


1857.]  Church  Poetry  and  Music,  519 

ing.  It  is  the  sentiment  of  the  few  and  not  of  the  many.  The 
other  feeling  is  that  of  the  vast  majority  of  mankind.  It  does 
not  reject  science  or  art.  It  is  not  opposed  to  a  grand  organ 
or  to  music  of  a  high  order.  But  it  considers  these  to  be 
mere  accessories.  The  Christian,  besides  worshipping  God  in 
secret  and  in  his  family,  desires  to  praise  him  worthily  in  the 
great  congregation.  That  this  may  be  done,  some  worthy 
method  must  be  found  to  unite  multitudes  together  in  one  act 
of  devotion.  All  hearts  must  be  lifted  up  together.  But  it 
will  not  accomplish  the  full  desire  of  the  soul,  if  they  be  lifted 
up  silently  ;  praise  must  have  voice  as  well  as  gesture.  The 
model  is  in  the  Apocalypse.  "And  when  he  had  taken  the 
book,  the  four  living  creatures,  and  four  and  twenty  elders  fell 
down  before  the  Lamb,  having  every  one  of  them  harps,  and 
golden  vials  full  of  odors,  which  are  the  prayers  of  saints.  And 
they  sung  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the 
book,  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof ;  for  thou  wast  slain,  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kindred, 
and  tongue,  and  people  and  nation ;  and  hast  made  us  unto 
our  God  kings  and  priests;  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth." 
This  is  the  beginning  of  the  praise  sung  by  the  ransomed 
Church.  Now  the  angels  mingle  with  the  strain.  "  And  I 
beheld,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  many  angels  round  about  the 
throne,  and  the  living  creatures  and  the  elders  ;  and  the  num- 
ber of  them  was  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and  thou- 
sands of  thousands ;  saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom, 
and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing."  Now  the 
universe  join  the  Church  and  the  angels.  "And  every  crea- 
ture which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and  under  the  earth, 
and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I 
saying,  Blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto 
him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  forever 
and  ever." 

The  fitting  representative  type  of  this  in  our  temples,  upon 
which  gold  and  art  and  eloquence  have  been  lavished  without  stint 
to  make  them  worthy  of  their  Divine  inhabitant,  is  considered 


520  Church  Poetry  and  Music.  [Dec. 

to  be  the  hiring  of  the  voices  of — two  women,  a  man,  and  a 
boy.     "We  hope  the  anticlimax  will  do  some  good. 

We  are  opposed  to  paying  the  members  of  choirs,  except  the 
organist  and  the  leader.  Let  them  cultivate  music  and  teach 
the  people.  But  God's  Church  should  sing  themselves.  If 
some  half  dozen  singers  are  hired,  the  "young  men  and 
maidens"  will  not  sing  with  them,  and  the  whole  becomes  a 
"performance,"  paid  for  and  duly  executed. 

The  praises  of  God  cannot  be  suitably  sung  without  volume 
as  well  as  melody.  Say  what  we  may  of  the  heart,  no  man 
worships  thoroughly  who  does  not  use  his  voice.  Why  not 
receive  the  communion  with  the  heart  only  ?  These  fashions 
of  letting  the  minister  stand  up  by  himself  to  pray  as  if  it  were 
his  business,  and  three  or  four  people  in  the  gallery  to  sing  as 
if  it  were  their  business,  are  ruinous  to  the  very  idea  of  devo- 
tion. When  God's  ambassador  says,  "Let  us  pray,"  let  the 
people  rise  and  stand  up  uncovered  and  reverent  before  God ; 
aud  when  he  says,  "Let  us  sing  to  the  praise  of  God,"  let  a 
thousand  voices  swell  to  heaven  like  the  sound  of  many  waters. 
We  go  to  church  to  worship  God ;  to  worship  together ;  that 
heart  may  enkindle  heart;  to  feel  the  communion  of  saints;  to 
gaze  at  the  throne  of  our  Father,  Saviour,  Comforter,  through 
tears  of  joy  and  longing.  A  cold,  formal  service  robs  God  and 
man ;  as  a  bright,  rich  and  affectionate  one,  makes  the  church 
the  home  of  God,  and  the  very  gate  of  heaven. 


THE 


PKESBYTEEIAN 


QUARTERLY   REVIEW. 


VOL,  VI 


BENJ.   J.   WALLACE,   EDITOR 

ALBERT  BARNES,  THOMAS  BRAINERD,  JOHN  JENKINS,  AND 
JOEL  PARKER,  Associate  Editors. 

"WITH   THE  ASSISTANCE   0? 


LANE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARIES. 


JEC     TAMES     COXSIMEBATFR. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN  HOUSE,  No.  1334  CHESTNUT  ST. 

NEW    YORK:    ITISON    k   PHINNEY,   AND   FIELD   *   CRAIGHEAD. 

1858. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1852,  by 

BENJ.    J.    WALLACE, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


PRINTED    BY    C    SHERMAN'    £    SON, 
619  St.  James  Street. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  VI. 


No.  XXI. 

ARTICLE  PAGE 

I.  Exclusivism — Part  II, 1 

II.  Thoughts  ox  Attic  Tragedy, 28 

III.  Will  the  Jews,  as  a  Natiox,  be  Restored  to  their  own 

Land? 46 

IV.  McWhorter  ox  the  Memorial  Name, 86 

V.  American  Literature,  -                106 

VI.  History  of  Public  Worship, 133 

VII.  Notices  of  New  Books, 154 


Xo.  XXII. 


I.  God's  Arraxgemexts  Successful, 177 

II.  Sketch  of  the   Life  axd   Character  of  Rev.  Isaac  Ax- 

dersox,  D.B., 194 

III.  DlSCRIMIXATIXG    PREACHIXG,. 210 

IV.  The  Gexeral  Assembly  of  1857, 226 

V.  Revisiox  of  the  Exglish  Bible, 255 

VI.  Charlotte  Broxte, 285 

VII.  Comte's  Positive  Philosophy, 311 

VIII.  Notices  of  New  Books,        -------  332 


If 


Contents, 


No.  XXIIL 

ARTICLE  ?AGE 

I.  John  Wycliffe,. -  353 

II.  The  Settlement  of  Maryland. 379 

III.  The  Office  of  Deacon, 409 

IV.  Theory  of  Public  Worship, 425 

V.  Exegetical  View  of  Rom.  vjii,  19-23r        -."-.--  451 

VI.  Church  Poetry  and  Music, 488 

Note  on  the  General  Assembly?s  Answer  to  the  Protest 

on  Slavery, 521 


No.  XXIV. 


I.  Abelard, 529 

II.  Spiritual  Discipline  of  the  Jesuits, 559 

III.  Personal  Reminiscences  of  Dr.  Griffin,  ...        -  587 

IV.  Hymn  Makers  and  Hymn  Menders, 605 

V.  Dr.  Barclay's  City  of  the  Great  King,   -  637 

VI.  Tennyson, 656 

Note  on  the  General  Assembly's  Answer  to  the  Protest 

on  Slavery, 686 

VII.  Notices  of  Ne*w  Books, 691 


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